Saving Grace
by thepantomimefairy17
Summary: Voldemort is dead. The war is won. But everyone seems like they've lost. Hermione is struggling to cope with it all, and is turning to helping others to find peace within.. A pale-haired boy seems to be fighting demons of his own.. How will they overcome the past? Will they find the comfort they're seeking in each other? Rated M for future chapters and language.
1. Prologue

**A/N : Hello everybody! I've been meaning to write FanFics for such a long time, but never got around to it. I've had this idea in my mind for a long time, but I just couldn't get myself to write it down and post it.**

 **And now, after thinking and overthinking, I've written this little chapter, and will be updating once a day, I hope.**

 **Also, looking for a beta. All help would be very appreciated. I hope you like what you read!**

 **And yes, ALL THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO THE QUEEN JKR.**

 **I'm making zero money from this (really, if you knew my bank balance you'd probably donate money). But I hope I get lots of love. All reviews are welcome.**

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Everything looked bleak. She didn't know where to run to hide from all the pain. So many of their friends, who were right there - talking, laughing, pushing and fighting on with a determined look in their eye - were gone. They'd won the war, true, but it felt lacking. There was relief, yes, but no happiness. At least the sacrificed lives of their loved ones weren't in vain.

The Dark Lord was dead.

Remembering she still had a duty to perform, Hermione Granger brushed her tears away with her soot and dust-covered palm, flinching a bit when she realized she had rubbed her wound in her face. She didn't have time for that, though. There were more important matters to take care of. Many of the Death Eaters had fled when they saw Harry was still alive, and more later when Voldemort fell, but there were still many to round up. The wounded fighters were to be patched up. St. Mungo's had been contacted, healers were arriving every second. So were the Aurors. It was decided then and there that Kingsley would be the next Minister for Magic.

Suddenly the weight of it all bore down upon her. Her home of seven years.. the place that looked like a dream come true ever since she first laid eyes on it, was burning. Hogwarts had fallen.. The despondent look on the faces of Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, as they sat near Fred's unmoving body.. It all felt so surreal.. She was almost waiting for Fred to jump up and laugh in their faces for falling easy prey to his prank. But he never did.. She looked at Harry and saw the guilt in his eyes. He blamed everything on himself.. She just didn't want to be there. She wanted to go home and curl herself up in as much as possible, make herself so small that the pain would become smaller yet.. But there was no respite.

Comfort would have to wait. Rest, could wait.

The next few weeks were full of visits to the Ministry and never ending trials and testimonies... And funerals.

Funerals of friends, allies, people they knew and didn't. Even some that they didn't like much.. Hermione would do anything to reverse the guilt she felt at Lavender's..Young Colin Creevey didn't deserve to die.. Teddy didn't deserve to be orphaned.. George deserved to be whole..  
She hoped they would all get to act their age now, for once, even though she wasn't sure what that was anymore.

So after all that work, responsibilities, and being strong, she decided, after 25 days of the end of war, that she could safely bring her parents home.  
 _Home_. You could never know how much power that one word can wield. How many emotions that one word can summon out of a person. After that impulsive kiss down in the Chamber of Secrets, things got a bit awkward between Ron and Hermione. She realized it was heat-of-the-moment and uncertainty of her life that made her do it, but for Ron it was much more. That was another reason she didn't stay back at the Burrow any more than she absolutely had to - choosing to live at her parents' empty house - other than the emptiness and silence that presided there now.. which made her feel even more lonely and double her efforts in finding them.

Good news came in the form of information about her parents and Hermione felt a smile form on her lips after what seemed like an eternity. They were alive, and safe in Australia. Before leaving, she said yes to Kingsley for working to bring the Ministry, and the wizarding population - by extension - back to its feet, partly because she didn't want to see Ron's accusing eyes following her around and the hurt look on his face. She didn't want to deal with his emotions right then, not when she was so unsure of how to process her own. She would have to deal with it, sooner or later, but she didn't have the energy or the heart to do that then.

So, saying her teary goodbyes to the Weasleys, Harry refusing to let her go by herself, and many, many arguments later, agreeing to drop her off at the airport and with the promise of being contacted the moment she lands, Hermione boarded the aircraft to bring back her old life.. As much of it as she could..

* * *

 _Money_. Their saving grace from Day One. Although his father was still stupid enough to believe that he had some influence or authority among the ministry and the wizarding world, in general.

But Draco Malfoy knew better.

He wasn't going to fool himself that they were pardoned because of their power, or their defection from Voldemort's cause at the last moment. They were simply a necessary evil, at the moment.

The Ministry was down on its knees, and they needed money to get back up. To build the community back up. Too much was lost in that madman's charade. And if you asked him, they owed it to wizardkind. There were way more Galleons in his Gringotts account alone than most of the people's accounts combined, and if he could give all of it away and earn a bit of forgiveness, it'd be well worth it. But that wasn't going to be enough.

He would have to suffer the consequences. All of them would. He wanted to go and ask everyone personally for forgiveness, but he was no Gryffindor. So he contented himself with as many donations he could give to the Ministry and St. Mungo's, and gained a bit of peace.

Their name completely in the mud, shunned for their actions throughout the two wars, the Malfoys were now pariahs. He didn't know how he would redeem the family name, that his father didn't think two seconds before sullying. An ancient house, with such rich history.. All gone because of the actions of a reckless son.. Believing in that bull was one thing, practicing it in the confines of your community another ( which was wrong too, in his opinion, but he hadn't been brave enough to voice that with the red-eyed monster breathing down his throat), but trying to eradicate all the muggleborns.. that was taking it too far. To them, family always came first, that's what he'd been taught. But his father forgot that, and now they'll have to deal with the repercussions..

Draco's head felt like imploding with all these thoughts, not knowing how to dust himself off and carry on. He could start on his redemption in the morning, but right now, he needed an outlet.. So he drank, and he drank until he could no longer see straight or think and he drank until he fell unconscious on the floor of his bedroom..

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 **So, here it is! Again, all reviews are welcome.**


	2. Confrontations

**A/N: So, here I am with the chapter I promised you guys. It's somewhat long, I know, but it sets a firm ground for our story that I felt was super important. Now that we 'll have these details out of the way, Hermione and Draco can fall into each other's paths!**

 **A big thank you to FanGirlForever19, Ybarra87, Marybear92, emjrabbitwolf, djacobs, beverlie4055, CordeiliaOllivander, for favoriting and following the story!** **Your support means A LOT! And also to all the 30 people who read it! I see you too! I'm so happy! Cookies for all!**

 **AND YES: ALL THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO MADAME J.K. ROWLING. I OWN NOTHING BUT THE WORDS I TWIST INTO CREATING THIS FANTASY!**

 **Happy reading!**

 **\- love, CECE.**

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The crisp Autumn breeze that hit Hermione when she exited the airplane was just what she needed after the long flight. She'd forgotten how slow muggle traveling could be, after apparating to almost everywhere she needed to go in the last few years.

Weather in Australia was much sunnier than the dull grey skies London, which was a welcome change. She looked forward to some beach time with her mom...

The thought made her stomach a bit queasy. She didn't know if her parents would even want anything to do with her after they regain their memories.. She would make them understand. She had no other choice. They'd have been killed!

She realized she'd been standing in other people's way around the luggage belt, completely forgetting her surroundings. Sheepishly, she bent her head, muttering hasty _sorrys_ to people, gathering her small strolley bag and getting out of there as fast as her feet would take her.

Once out, she took a deep breath, the war had made her weary of strangers and crowds, always looking over her shoulders - Moody's voice shouting " _Constant Vigilance!"_ in her head. She teared up at his memory, but shook her head, taking a sip of water, composing herself. Everything would have to wait. She had to bring back her parents first.

Taking out a small piece of paper from her purse's pocket, she hailed a taxi, and told the driver the address of Wendell and Monika Wilkins. Kingsley had arranged for her stay in the wizarding Australia as well, seeing that she might need some healers with her when she went to reverse the spell on her parents, but Hermione asked him to just inform the authorities in Australia, so she could call on them if need be.

As the car moved, she saw the beautiful city of Gold Coast unfold in front of her. People going about their business, young ones on bikes, skateboards, laughing and having a good time, and as the car skirted around the shore area, she saw people with surf-boards, and couldn't help but feel her spirits rise feeling the vibes of it all. And soon they were moving south, away from the beach and towards big buildings and sky-scrapers. She could see more people going to work, the streets busy with traffic rather than the cheery folks, and they crossed it all to move further south to the suburbs. And as more and more houses started coming into view she became increasingly flustered - they were close now.

"That'll be twenty dollars", the cabbie spoke, breaking her out of her thoughts. Hermione quickly took out the amount and handed it to him."Thank you", she said as she got out of the car.

She was standing outside what looked like a very handsome bungalow, painted in all white hues, with a beautiful surrounding garden filled with roses of all shapes and sizes (she and her mum had that in common, guess the memory charm cannot erase the personality), with lush green grass growing all around, and a handsome BMW parked on the sidewalk. It seemed like Wendell and Monika were indeed doing very well. That thought felt bittersweet to Hermione. She erased their memories, they uprooted their entire lives and went to live in a new country where they're doing rather well and now she's back again.. But they deserved to know who they really were. And, she couldn't really live without them.

So, she steeled herself, squared her shoulders and walked purposefully towards the house, and upon reaching the door, rang the bell.

Her mother's faraway voice came from the other side, "Coming!"

She took some deep breaths in quick succession, and made a strained face (which wasn't that hard to do, given her anxiety) as the door opened and her mother came out.

"Hello, my name is Hermione. I'm not from here and I've been looking for a friend's house for a long time, but can't seem to find it. Can you help me?" , she asked, in what she hoped was an anxious voice, which wasn't that hard to come by given the situation. She didn't want to use magic on her mother to gain entry in their house. A look of recognition crossing her eyes for a second before it was gone. Guess magic could only do so much.

Monika Wilkins just stared at the young lady standing in front of her, unable to shake the feeling that she somehow knew her. From her accent, the girl was definitely British though, and looked distressed, and Monika believed her. So, she said, " I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that trouble, dear. Why don't you come in? I'm sure my husband and I can help you find your friend. Are you British?"

Hermione was a bit surprised, but more relieved than she would let show. She nodded yes, and followed her mother into the spacious foyer and into what looked like the living room on the left. She was right, her parents were indeed well off, if the understated class of the house was any clue. " You have a lovely home, Mrs..?", she asked, smiling.

"Wilkins, Monika Wilkins", she smiled back.

They went and sat in the living room on a pair of plush seats. Again, Hermione caught her mother looking at her strangely. When she realised Hermione had noticed it, she smiled awkwardly and stood up, excusing herself to go get some refreshments from the kitchen.

Hermione waited with bated breath for her father's appearance, she didn't think it'd be wise to undo the spells on them separately. She was still lost in her thoughts and how to go about it all when she heard footsteps approaching from the inner area of the house, and her heartbeat increased.

"Honey, who was at the door?" came her father's voice.

He entered the living area and Hermione saw her father for the first time in over a year. She hardly contained herself as she gave him a timid, unsure smile. Before she could say anything though, her mother came back into view carrying a tray of drinks and some quick bites.

She smiled at her husband and told him that Hermione had lost her way finding a friend's house, and that she'd come from Britain.

Wendell looked at her for a long scrutinizing moment and then said his greetings, " I'm sorry to hear that, and welcome to Australia, but a young lady like you shouldn't be out in a completely foreign country when she doesn't know where to go", he chided. He felt inexplicably protective of this girl.

Monika smiled at Hermione awkwardly and dragged her husband to the side, obviously telling him to be polite.

And that was it, Hermione had her chance. Before they turned around, Hermione quickly took her wand out, and uttered the words she had practised a thousand times - but never thought she'd ever get to say them - " _Revelare verum memorias"_

Both of her parents got unconscious, Hermione quickly did a cushioning charm to prevent the fall, and her parents landed softly onto the ground, calm expressions on both their faces.

"I'm so sorry, mum and dad", she kept repeating as she levitated them into their bedroom, and informed the magical hospital in Australia that she needed 2 healers to her location.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity before she heard the familiar crack of apparition and she jumped up, wand in hand, towards the sound, before remembering that it was the healers. War and continuous looming threat of death would do that to a person.

A man and a woman - both around mid-30s', by their looks - appeared and greeted her with a friendly smile, and the woman said, "I'm healer Roberts, and this is healer Matthews".

Hermione smiled back politely and shook both their hands and replied, "I'm Hermione Granger, and I need your assistance with my parents, Richard and Helen Granger."

They both knew her well, as the news of the wizarding war in Britain had travelled everywhere. Voldemort was infamous, and even the magic authorities around the world were wary of that man.

She explained the situation to the healers and Healer Roberts asked her to take her to the room her parents were in, and Healer Matthews went to get the potions they'd need for their full and safe recovery. While they waited for his return, Healer Roberts did a few spells over her parents' brains to look if any damage had been caused due to the memory alterations - both the spells were very powerful, they could mess with a magical person's brain, and these were muggles.

Hermione felt guilty, and had to remind herself over and over again that she did what had to be done and maybe they were alive because of that. Relief washed over her when healer Roberts announced that there was no brain damage and they'd be feeling perfectly healthy in a day or two.

"What is it, dear? Something bothering you?" healer Roberts asked as she smiled kindly at Hermione, her eyes concerned.

She wasn't the kind of person to bare her heart out to a stranger, mind you, but her worries at the moment were valid. So she asked, "I'm worried about how they will take the explanation I have to give. Will it affect their brains in any way? What I meant to ask is, is it safe for me to explain everything today? Because they'll want to know it all."

The kind healer looked at her with understanding eyes, and said, "Don't worry, dear, we will be here as you talk to them, and if any complications arise, we'll be there to take care of it all. It's our job. It's better to tell them today, after they've had some potions, because we wouldn't want them to be confused. That could affect their brains."

After that, Hermione left the two healers to administer the potions and run some tests, while she went to the kitchen to get some tea and something to eat. She didn't want to eat, but she was starving and she'd learned the true value of food during the last year of running and hiding and fighting a war.

So, she made herself a sandwich and smiled as she looked through the cabinets and saw so many packs of her mother's favorite Jasmine tea.. Some things never change.

She made some for herself and re-joined the healers after her quick snack, feeling a lot motivated.

Almost an hour later, her father opened his eyes, and minutes later, so did her mother... They looked to their surroundings in shock and then to each other, registering where they were and then looked around, and found Hermione's eyes, who turned her face guiltily.

Richard Granger sat up immediately, and then winced a bit, clutching his head, and then looked up at his daughter.

Hermione could practically hear the gears in his head turning.

She cleared her throat and started, "Hi Dad, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. But before you say or think anything, I need you to listen to me.."

Richard had half a mind to give her a good earful, but his wife held his hand, and asked him to help her sit up.

"Hello, mum", Hermione said.

"Hermione.. What's going on?", she asked.

Hermione hesitated a bit, but closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "Let me explain, mum".

And she launched into the entire story of what happened and how they'd had a war and a madman wanted to kill all the muggle-born witches and wizards like her. How they succeeded in getting rid of him, sans the part of her capture and torture and almost certain death many times. An edited version of the events, so to speak.

She could see the horror, anger, absolute terror on their faces at points, and by the end of it - almost an hour later - she finished, "so that's why I had to alter your memories, because I didn't want him or his people to find you or use you in any way to get to me."

After 5 minutes of complete silence, when either of her parents were yet to say anything, she urged, "please, Dad. Say something. Anything. Mum..".

"You're our daughter, Hermione - _we_ protect _you_ , not the other way around" her father finally spoke, each of his word coming out in a hiss as he tried to control his temper.

Her mother couldn't stop crying. Their daughter, their brillliant girl had suffered so much all by herself and they were powerless. Even if they'd known, they were completely useless against the kind of danger she was in.

Hermione couldn't stop herself and got off the armchair she was sitting in, and went to hold her parents close.

The three of them hugged each other, and held on for a long time, as if afraid that as soon as they let go, they'll disappear. Only a parent could forgive like that, Hermione mused as she let go and stood up to make all of them some dinner. It'd been so long that they'd had a meal as a family.

After dinner, Jean told her that she should get some rest, and talk more in the morning. Hermione had traveled a lot, and both of them had also been feeling under the weather since Hermione did her... whatever she did.

Hermione didn't forget to put a silencing charm around her room, she knew she'd wake up with nightmares - screaming her head off, while that ugly, vile bitch carved into her arm - throughout the night.

* * *

Draco woke up to something trying to tug his clothes from his body. Groggily, he opened his eyes and saw a little head looking here and there nervously and tugging at his robes. He'd fell asleep drinking last night, hence, the clothes from yesterday. He let out a whine into the pillow as he tried to ignore the continuous poking and tugging from his house elf - Bessie. Honestly, he really liked that elf, but he wanted to hex her into oblivion at that moment.

"Get away Bessie! And don't wake me up till next week!" , he all but shouted. _Ah! The headache!_ and then groaned.

" Bu.. but .. but master told Bessie last night to wake him for the meeting wi.. with the minister" , Bessie stammered.

 _Even louder groan._

Muttering something about hating his life, looking at the clock and seeing he only had half an hour before he had to be in front of the Minister for Magic, Draco said, "oh fine, bring me two vials of _Invigorating_ _Draught,_ put them on my desk, and some fresh fruits."

"Right away, master", the little elf squeaked and disapparated with a crack.

Finally stumbling out of the bed, shedding his clothes on the way to the bathroom, he got into the shower and hoped that the soothing water will ease the pain in his temples.

A very fast shower, two vials of invigorating draught later, he felt much better, and ready to face the music for today. They were actually whispers and hisses and sometimes outright insults directed at him, but he referred to them as background music - much easier to deal with them then.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror - he looked proper and ready to address the leader of the wizarding world - checking that he had everything he needed, he quickly grabbed some floo powder from the mantle and threw it into the fireplace and said, "Ministry of Magic" and disappeared in the green flames.

* * *

The next morning rose bright and shining in the beautiful coastal city of Gold Coast. Hermione woke up an felt lighter than she had felt in a very long time. Getting up from the bed, she went down to see her parents and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them both in the kitchen, as if she half expected them to have disappeared during the night.

They were talking normally but she could tense the thick underlying tension. After the uncomfortable breakfast that she lost the appetite for - no matter how much her mother tried to lighten the mood - she realized she needed to breach the topic.

So she asked both her parents to sit down with her asked them to tell her how they felt about it all.

"We love you, you're our only daughter. I cannot say that I have put this behind me. But as a parent, I forgive you, " her father said.

"Thank you so much, daddy, that means everything to me. " Hermione said with tears in her eyes.

Richard continued, "But, I, _we_ , need time to process this. We have established a life here, and we honestly don't want to leave here. We love the weather and our life here. We're happier with you, that goes without saying, but we can't come back to England, nor do we want you to leave."

Hermione's eyes grew more and more teary until one tear slipped out, and hearing her parents' stance, she could understand where they were coming from but she couldn't leave the wizarding world.

"I understand your concern daddy, but everything is good now. Voldemort is dead, and he's never coming back. I belong in that world that fought so hard to so hard for. I cannot leave it. I'm sorry" she sobbed into her mother's shoulder.

After a long argument, her parents finally understood that their daughter will never leave her magic behind, and that it was a bit cruel to ask her to forget that part of herself. They didn't raise her to be a coward. She wouldn't run away from something just because she faced problems there, no matter how serious or life-threatening.

So, they decided that she'll stay one more day and then return to London, and keep coming back to them, it'll give her a chance to explore the world a bit, and would be a vacation too from that bleak London weather.

For now, they were going to go to the beach.

* * *

As he arrived at the ministry, not many people were around and the atrium was still basically a rubble, he continued towards the Minister's office. Upon reaching his destination, he pulled out the official envelope he got that said that the Minister requested his attendance, and gave it to the Minister's secretary, who was - let's take a wild guess - a _Weasley!_

This one used to be Head-boy, Draco remembered. When he got the clearance, he took a deep breath, told his mind to calm down, and knocked on the door. Time for _confrontations_...

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 **And that's it for today everyone! Reviews please!**


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